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Russian status symbols make a cameo appearance at Snug Harbor

Updated on November 8, 2016 at 6:05 AMPosted on November 8, 2016 at 6:00 AM

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Outside the Staten Island Museum, Dan Libman stands beside his 1967 Volga, a status symbol in the former Soviet Union. The car made a cameo appearance in "The Americans" cable television show as it was filmed at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center. (Staten Island Advance/Claire Regan)

And on Monday afternoon, a pair of them was parked in the lot outside the Staten Island Museum at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center.

The two classic Volgas - the high-end signature car of the former Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s - were waiting to make cameo appearances in "The Americans" as scenes from season 5 were being filmed in and around the Livingston cultural center.

Produced by the network FX, "The Americans" is a period drama about the marriage of two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington, D.C.

On Monday night, Snug Harbor's front lawn was transformed into a Moscow street scene for the cable television show.

Dan Libman, a nurse practitioner who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, has owned his turquoise 1967 GAZ-M21 Volga since December. He bought it from the grandson of its original owner, and had it shipped from Russia to the U.S.

A view from the driver's seat inside the 1967 GAZ-M21 Volga. Built from thick steel, the M21 was a sturdy beast that could look menacing in black. (Staten Island Advance/Claire Regan)

"All original parts - the wiring, the casings, all of it," he announced, eagerly showing off the model as he killed time between shoots. His antique handled the 60-plus miles from his home in Sparta, N.J., with no problem, he added.

BUILT TO LAST

Named for the longest river in Europe that flows through central Russia, the Volga was more sturdy than sleek and became an instant status symbol when it first rolled off the GAZ (Gorky Automobile Plant) assembly line in 1957.

"Just to buy a car in the (former) Soviet Union in the 1960s, 1970s, was difficult," Libman said. "You were on a wait list. You had no choice of color. You were just lucky to get one."

"Volgas weren't available to the average person," he continued. "Only the elite with a place in society" had access to them. And so it wasn't unusual for one Volga to be passed down through several generations of one family, he said.

A meticulous restoration of Dmitri Shvetsov's 1957 Volga took four years in Russia. His award-winning car was used in scenes for "The Americans," filmed Monday at Snug Harbor. (Staten Island Advance/Claire Regan)

GAZ produced the last M21 in 1970, and there are fewer than 50 Volgas in the U.S. today, Libman said.

Across the parking lot, Dmitri Shvetsov was busy tinkering with the starter on his 1957 pastel-blue-and-cream GAZ-M21V Volga, which was meticulously restored in Russia "to get every washer, bolt and nut correct."

"Forty-nine awards in three years," boasted the Moscow native who now lives in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. They include the president's cup in 2014 and first place in 2016 from the Staten Island Region Antique Automobile Club of America.

He, too, explained how prestigious the Volga was in the former USSR.

Two other vintage cars used for cameo appearances in "The Americans" sit in the parking lot at Snug Harbor. At left is a dark blue 1966 ZAZ and at right is a beige 1988 Lada. (Staten Island Advance/Claire Regan)

"If you had a Volga, you were at the top of the social ladder," Shvetsov said, adding that special permission from the government was required just to get on a wait list for the car.

He pointed out the GAZ ornament, a leaping deer, on the steering wheel and dashboard, and then opened the trunk to reveal a spare tire like no other.

"That's Soviet air in the spare," he smiled, confirming it as the 59-year-old original that came with the car.